Voldo
]] '''Voldo' is a fictional character in the ''Soul'' series of video games. Created by Namco's Project Soul division, he first appeared in Soul Edge, and later in all games of the Soulcalibur saga with the exception of Soulcalibur Legends. His likeness has been used for merchandise related to the series, ranging from plush toys to action figures. Voldo has no spoken dialogue in any title in the series, instead moaning or hissing deeply while fighting an opponent. Conception and history As a character introduced in Soul Edge, Voldo's weapon, dual hand katars designed to be unique amongst the other weapons in the game, were selected before other elements of the character. His design and concept were then built to revolve around it, starting with gender, then physical measurements, and lastly background details. After his appearance and movement were fleshed out by a concept artist,OPM staff. Behind the Game: Soul Calibur III. 1Up.com. Retrieved on 2008-07-30 his character was rendered as a 3D model by a design team that worked solely on him.De Marco, Flynn (2007-09-20). Tgs07: Soul Calibur Director Katsutoshi Sasaki on Weapons, Characters and Storyline. Kotaku. Retrieved on 2008-07-30 During this phase the team additionally worked with the Soulcalibur story creators, refining the character's own role in the plot as needed throughout development.CVG staff (2005-10-10). Soul Calibur III Interview. CVG. Retrieved on 2008-09-05 Unlike other characters in the series, a majority of Voldo's movements were created from Naotake Hirata's imagination and not motion capture.Interview with Hirata-San (Web Archive backup). Namco Bandai. Retrieved on 2008-09-06 However the head of Team Soul's motion capture department, Kent Kojima, noticed one particular actor working with them was highly flexible and able to mimic Voldo. Impressed, Kojima utilized him in motion capture sessions for some of the character's animations for Soulcalibur III, stating in a later interview "I was astonished that a human being could actually move like that. It left quite an impression on me. You probably can't tell which part is motion capture and what was just animated by hand by our animator." Design During Voldo's development, several alternate designs were considered, ranging from a balding, long haired man with a goatee to a to a rich nobleman wielding a katar on his right hand and a sickle in his left.ヴォルド　キャラクター原案 (in Japanese). Namco Bandai. Retrieved on 2008-12-22 In video games Voldo was the right-hand man of Italian weapons merchant Vercci, also known as the Merchant of Death. Vercci desired Soul Edge to form part of his collection of rare weapons, and Voldo stood as the head of the expeditions in his search, even contracting the services of the feared Spanish Captain Cervantes de Leon, and later accompanied Vercci when he decided to take the search personally. When word came that the Italian Wars broke on Italy and that Vercci's possessions were the first targets, Vercci became angry and moved his fleet, his only remaining possession, to an uninhabited island off the coast of Sicily. After construction of Vercci's vault was completed Voldo was instructed to slay the sailors that helped in the construction to avoid the location of Vercci's Money Pit being revealed. Voldo would remain sealed underground, turning himself into the guardian of the tomb and slaying those who ventured to steal, making rumours of the island, its treasures and its "ghost guardian" spread around the globe. Years later, Voldo would hear his master's voice commanding him to search for Soul Edge once again, making him leave the tomb. In the sequel Soulcalibur, Voldo's search for Soul Edge ended in failure, and he returned to find the Money Pit flooded by a storm. After saving what he could, Voldo remained in the vault, later to reemerge from the pit following a woman with the essence of Soul Edge, Ivy, who tried to find leads on the sword for herself. In Soulcalibur II Voldo returns to the Money Pit after taking Yoshimitsu's katana, mistaking it for Soul Edge due to its evil aura. Voldo realized it was not Soul Edge and set outside on a new search, collecting its fragments along the way. His profile in Soul Calibur III reveals that during one of his periodic visits to the Pit, Voldo found the tomb ransacked and the sword he mistook for Soul Edge stolen alongside the fragments he collected in his travels. Since the thieves were apparently interested in Soul Edge, he decided to track them down and force them to reveal any information they may possess regarding the sword. He also came to realize he was eventually going to die and leave the pit unprotected, so he began to search for a worthy successor as well. During the events leading up to Soul Calibur IV, Voldo managed to locate Soul Edge at Ostrheinsburg, resting in the hands of the Azure Knight. After finally claiming Soul Edge for his master, a familiar voice spoke to him, instructing him to protect Soul Edge. However, the voice belonged not to Vercci, but Soul Edge, which assumed his form in Voldo's mind. While Soul Edge could possess Voldo's heart, it could not change it, for Voldo only serves one master: his beloved Vercci. Cultural impact Critical reception Voldo's attire and unusual fighting style has been a source of discussion regarding the character by several sources. In the book "Trigger Happy", Steven Poole described him as "a triumph of iconic or pictorial representation", contrasting him against abstract character Pac-Man.Poole, Steven (2004), Trigger Happy: Videogames and the Entertainment Revolution. Arcade Publishing. ISBN 1559705981 Game Chronicles described Voldo as "that guy is sick...in more ways than one."Smith, Mark (2008-08-14). Soul Calibur IV Review. Game Chronicles. Retrieved on 2008-08-30 PlayStation Magazine described Voldo as "nothing if not the master of freakiness."PSM Staff (December 2003) "Soulcalibur II" PlayStation: The Official Magazine. Game Vortex reviewer Robert Perkins described him as "a warrior that can best be described as martial artist/contortionist meets Edward Scissorhands."Perkins, Robert. Soul Calibur IV review. Game Vortex. Retrieved on 2008-08-30 Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine noted him in their "Characters with Character" article, citing him as a staff favorite but also for his bizarreness.OPM Staff (October 2003). "Characters with Character". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine The New York Times described him as "perhaps the oddest character ever to appear in this genre", noting similarity between his movements and a go-go dancer. The article later added after a discussion of his attire and weaponry "the character is a pastiche of every Satanist stereotype imaginable. Why isn't Jerry Falwell leading an anti-Soul Calibur campaign?"Spiegler, Mark (2000-04-20). Game Theory: Brutal Charm for Both Players and Spectators New York Times. Retrieved on 2009-04-29 In a 2002 poll by Namco prior to the release of Soul Calibur II regarding their favorite character, Voldo placed third, with 13% of the tally.Soul Calibur 2 -- New Screens And Character Info. Retrieved on 2008-08-02 Voldo placed fourth in UGO.com's "Top 11 SoulCalibur Fighters" article, stating "Voldo is here because he's top-tier fighter who also happens to be a highly skilled contortionist and an S&M fetishist."Top 11 SoulCalibur Fighters. UGO.com. Retrieved on 2008-08-29 IGN listed Voldo as one of the series' top ten fighters at number four, stating "Voldo scares us. He isn't a man so much as a twisted mass of writhing muscle, all wrapped up and held together in 16th-Century bondage gear...Even a fighter who prepares for all possible opponents has taken Voldo's unique moveset into account."Schedeen, Jesse. Soulcalibur: The Top Ten Fighters. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-08-01 GameDaily ranked him number two on their "Top 10 Ugliest Game Characters" article, noting his lack of clothes and describing him as a "one-man freak show, plain and simple."Top 10 Ugliest Game Characters. GameDaily. Retrieved on 2008-12-08 He was listed number five in Dutch gaming magazine Power Unlimited s "Top 5 Characters to Spontaneously Cause Suicide" due to his appearance and high speed, unpredictable attacks.Top 5 Characters die je spontaan zelfmoordpogingen geven (in Dutch). Power Unlimited. Retrieved on 2008-08-03 In 2002 a video titled "Dance, Voldo, Dance" was released; created by Chris Brandt consisting of a machinima animation of two Voldos dancing to musician Nelly's song "Hot in Here" using existing in-game animation.Dance, Voldo, Dance. Bain St. Productions. Retrieved on 2008-09-03 The video drew praise as a "virtuoso in-game performance",Halter, Ed (2005-11-01). Gamers Show the Creators of Doom How It's Done. The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2008-11-26 and it briefly appeared on website popularity index Popdex's "Top 10".McErvale, Joanna (2004-08-19). Battle of the Dance. The Age. Retrieved on 2008-09-03 The video has since been cited as an example of machinima in scholastic sources,Nitsche, Michael (2005). Film live: An Excursion into Machinima (PDF). Georgia Institute of Technology. Retrieved on 2008-09-03 and has spawned several fan-made machinima animation of a similar vein for each subsequent Soulcalibur title.Fahey, Mike (2008-12-17). Voldo is One Smooth Criminal. Kotaku. Retrieved on 2008-12-17 References External links *"Dance, Voldo, Dance" video at Machinima.com. Category:Soul series characters Category:Male video game characters Category:Fictional orphans Category:Fictional mute characters Category:Fictional blind characters Category:Fictional Sicilian people Category:Fictional servants Category:Fictional Italian people Category:Fictional henchmen Category:Fictional prisoners Category:Fictional characters with mental illness Category:1996 introductions